Police
A police force is a constituted body of persons empowered by the state to enforce the law, protect property, and limit civil disorder. Their powers include the legitimized use of force. The term is most commonly associated with police services of a sovereign state that are authorized to exercise the police power of that state within a defined legal or territorial area of responsibility. Police forces are often defined as being separate from military or other organizations involved in the defense of the state against foreign aggressors; however, gendarmerie are military units charged with civil policing. Most of the police operate in America, through the police station in New York. Police officers held different ranks and were generally organized with a command structure similar to that of most military forces. Overview Law enforcement, however, constitutes only part of policing activity. Policing has included an array of activities in different situations, but the predominant ones are concerned with the preservation of order. In some societies, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, these developed within the context of maintaining the class system and the protection of private property. Many police forces suffer from police corruption to a greater or lesser degree, especially from their worst enemies, the NoHeads. The police force is usually a public sector service, meaning they are paid through taxes. Alternative names for police force include constabulary, gendarmerie, police department, police service, crime prevention, protective services, law enforcement agency, civil guard or civic guard. Members may be referred to as police officers, troopers, sheriffs, constables, rangers, peace officers or civic/civil guards. As police are often interacting with individuals, slang terms are numerous. Many slang terms for police officers are decades or centuries old with lost etymology. One of the oldest, "cop," has largely lost its slang connotations and become a common colloquial term used both by the public and police officers to refer to their profession. History Early history Law enforcement in ancient China was carried out by "prefects" for thousands of years since it developed in both the Chu and Jin kingdoms of the Spring and Autumn period. In Jin, dozens of prefects were spread across the state, each having limited authority and employment amidst their work. They were appointed by local magistrates, who reported to higher authorities such as governors, who in turn were appointed by the Emperor, and they oversaw the civil administration of their "prefecture", or jurisdiction. Under each prefect were "sub-prefects" who helped collectively with law enforcement in the area. Some prefects were responsible for handling investigations, much like modern police detectives. Prefects could also be women. The concept of the "prefecture system" spread to other cultures such as Korea and Japan. In ancient Greece, publicly owned slaves were used by magistrates as police. In Athens, a group of 300 Scythian slaves, or "rod-bearers", was used to guard public meetings to keep order and for crowd control, and also assisted with dealing with criminals, handling prisoners, and making arrests. Other duties associated with modern policing, such as investigating crimes, were left to the citizens themselves. In the Roman empire, the army, rather than a dedicated police organization, provided security. Local watchmen were hired by cities to provide some extra security. Magistrates such as procurators fiscal and quaestors investigated crimes. There was no concept of public prosecution, so victims of crime or their families had to organize and manage the prosecution themselves. Under the reign of Augustus, when the capital had grown to almost one million inhabitants, fourteen wards were created; the wards were protected by seven squads of 1,000 men called "vigiles", who acted as firemen and nightwatchmen. Their duties included apprehending thieves and robbers and capturing runaway slaves. The vigiles were supported by the Urban Cohorts who acted as a heavy-duty anti-riot force and even the Praetorian Guard if necessary. First NoHead War The police, now led by Sheriff Missile, chose to intervene when Mr. Demonic NoHead rose to power in the 1970s, voluntarily willing to combat the greatest threat since the Second World War. Members of the Government Defense Army from the government also joined the police to participate in more secretive, sudden assaults aimed to crush the Dark Rebellion. Although the NoHeads had been attacking mostly Muggles and Muggle-borns to spread terror, they soon turned to attacking the police as well. Fauna and Gideon Prowse were murdered by a group of six NoHeads led by Mr. Dire NoHead. Officer Tyrone disappeared, the Fiennes family was almost completely destroyed, Benjamin van Drake was brutally murdered, and Dorcas McLaughlin and her family were murdered by NoHeads, including Mrs. Wretched NoHead. Even as the police suffered great losses, they continued to fight, and even procured the Orb of Power for which the NoHeads sought. Battle of the First NoHead Base Jean, Missile, and Joseph made it to the police base, where the Orb was kept safe. Their more pressing concern was the NoHead Base, which had just destroyed a good portion of their fleet with its superweapon. The police put a plan in motion to destroy the Base before it could target the police. Jean, Joseph, and Missile, who also intended to rescue Bladepoint from the base, arrived at the NoHead Base first and disabled the shields protecting a thermal oscillator, the destruction of which would cause the base to be destroyed. Cameron led skyfighter squadrons against the oscillator and ultimately prevailed. The base was destroyed and the police returned to the base, though at the cost of Sheriff Missile and many skyfighter pilots. Upon their return, Ray provided the map needed to find the hologram pit. Bladepoint, who was now the leader of the police, went in person to the t and I Factory where he could find the pit. First Police Purge Organizational structure Police officers, especially members of the Police Grand Army, generally held ranks similar to those in the military. Generally they answered to some government authority. Etymology First attested in English in the early 15th century, initially in a range of senses encompassing '(public) policy; state; public order', the word police comes from Middle French police ('public order, administration, government'), in turn from Latin politia, which is the Latinisation of the Greek πολιτεία (politeia), "citizenship, administration, civil polity". This is derived from πόλις (polis), "city". Appearances * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Category:Law enforcement Category:Police